Taking time to marvel at the little things in life while juggling family, friends and a full-time job.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Spicy Cauliflower Poblano Soup

I think the only good thing I can say about being in a cooking rut is getting out of it. As frustrating as being in a rut is, that split second when you're standing in the grocery store and you spot that ingredient that triggers the avalanche of creativity almost makes it worth the trouble. That happened to me at Wegman's recently. The first Wegman's in Massachusetts opened back in October 2011 (same day as the premier of the second season of "The Walking Dead"..... I loved that day...) so yesterday I visited again. Most of my 2,000 grand opening friends were absent, so I actually got a chance to browse areas I hadn't been able to get near that day. I knew I had been in a rut. Sure, I had cooked a few good meals, even a few new-to-me ones, but I hadn't "invented" anything in a long time. I hadn't found myself inspired enough to do so lately.

The first thing I spotted when I walked into Wegman's this time was a display of huge, beautiful, snow white heads of cauliflower. Funny, that was the first thing I spotted back in October, too, and now I will forever associate cauliflower with zombies. It's not just me... in the book "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", there is a reference to the carnivorous undead being tricked into feasting on heads of cauliflower instead of human beings. So don't call me weird or crazy, okay? It's a perfectly logical association, I assure you.

I remembered this amazing cauliflower soup I made once or twice and thought about making that again, but I really wanted to be inspired to make something different. I picked one up...put it down....picked it up again...put it down again. I decided to come back if nothing else piqued my interest, and started wandering through the rest of the produce department. Last time I was here, I had picked up two poblano peppers - I had never cooked with them before - and promptly fell into my cooking rut, letting them rot in the bottom of by crisper drawer in the fridge. I spotted them and thought about giving it another try, but passed with an empty basket and headed over to the cheese department. Ah, to find something new (to me).

And there it was.... a small selection of cheeses I had never tried before! Among them some Mexican style cheeses, like Cotija, a sort of sharp, crumbly goat cheese; and Queso Panela, a soft, white cheese; and Queso Blanco, a creamy white cow's milk cheese, kind of a fresh mozzarella texture and flavor, but it doesn't exactly melt, it just softens up. The sign said it can be sprinkled over, among other things, soups as a garnish....

Soup, you say?
Cauliflower....
Poblano....
Soup....

Egads! I think I feel a recipe coming on!

I grabbed some cheese, then retraced my steps through produce, snagging one of those gorgeous heads of cauliflower, a poblano pepper, a jalapeno, and some of my staple veggies, onions, garlic, red bell pepper and carrots. I grabbed an avocado, too, because, well, it was there.

Once I got home, I chopped up the poblano pepper, minced three cloves of garlic and separated the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. I tossed them with some olive oil and seasonings - salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cayenne.

I spread this mixture on a baking sheet and roasted them, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, I diced some onion, celery and carrots and sauteed them in a little olive oil.

When the onions were translucent, I added some diced red pepper. I like red pepper to stay a little crisper, so that's why I added it later.

After that, I forgot to take pictures, but basically I added some chicken stock and seasonings to the sauteed onion mixture, then stirred in the roasted cauliflower. I also added a minced fresh jalapeno pepper. I made a roux out of butter and flour, whisked in milk and added that to the mixture and let it come up to a heavy simmer and thicken up. I then sort of half-mashed, half pureed the soup. I like to leave some cauliflower in floret form. When serving, you can swirl in sour cream and garnish with cilantro, sliced scallions and/or avocado chunks. and maybe a few hunks of that queso blanco or even some shredded cheddar would work..

Roasted Cauliflower Poblano Soup....Creamy, but light, with a bit of a kick. Just enough to keep you safe from zombies.

4 comments:

That sounds amazing! I don't think I've ever had cauliflower in soup before, but I really want to try it now!

The Walking Dead....the wait for the next season is seriously killing me. The last episode was such a shocker. Sophia was in the barn the whole time? I didn't see that coming!! I was hoping that Hell On Wheels would fill the void, but I just can't seem to get interested in it.

Back in October, when the second season on TWD premiered, we made a big batch of tamales so I always associate them with the show (and zombies).

About Me

I'm forty-something working mom (yes, I know that's redundant!) trying to get it all done while still appreciating the little things in life, stopping to smell the roses and making the mundane interesting. My kitchen is my kingdom, my daughter my faithful assistant and my two giant dogs are the clean up crew. And a husband who's always asking why I never make any "REAL" food! (He's not into the fancy stuff! I may have to do a "Bologna Sandwich" post in honor of him...)